Tanaiste Simon Coveney with British Minister David Liddington
It guarantees free movement for citizens crossing the Irish border and cross-border access for study and health care.
The MOU will be great news for people along the Derry/Donegal border who cross the frontier for work, hospital treatment, socialising and visiting family.
It comes as the North’s political parties meet in an attempt to break the Stormont deadlock after two years and four months.
Northern Ireland has been without devolved government for more than two-and-a-half years, after the DUP and Sinn Féin split in a bitter row.
A memorandum of understanding, which is not legally binding, was signed at a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on Wednesday.
The conference was scheduled by the two governments following last month’s murder of Lyra McKee, and is part of efforts to restore power-sharing in Belfast.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney gave an illustration of the kind of rights the governments want to protect.
“British and Irish people will be able to travel to each others’ countries, to study, to work, access social welfare, access health care and vote in each other’s elections,” he said,
Some politicians argue this memorandum is insufficient as it is not a binding treaty.
However the Irish government said people should be assured by the fact that the deal has been copper fastened by legislation in both countries.
Tanaiste Simon Coveney with British Minister David Liddington
They held talks with the five main parties, the first since substantive negotiations collapsed last year.
David Lidington, who is Theresa May’s de facto deputy, stressed the importance of the latest memorandum.
“It guarantees that whatever the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU, there will be no change to the rights of British and Irish citizens,” he said.
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